tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19344485436238800952017-12-10T22:07:35.811-05:00Another Perfect DayGod has given us our days and in His Will they are perfect.Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.comBlogger212125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-7289228667070726332017-11-20T20:23:00.000-05:002017-11-20T20:23:35.368-05:00Living Thanksgiving
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms." -Ephesians 1:3
With the Thanksgiving holiday swiftly upon us I have my list of things to do: Gather recipes✔ Shop✔ Clean House✔ Bake pies✔ Prepare what I can ahead of time✔ Set the table✔ Make a list of what I'm thankful for✔
The last Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-70155149556644885222017-10-24T08:17:00.000-04:002017-10-24T08:17:11.431-04:00All Hallows Eve
"...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." -Hebrews 10:10
With Halloween just around the corner--the secular day to celebrate witches, black cats, and all things scary--I wanted to write about All Hallows (Holy) Eve, the Christian day of preparation for All Hollows Day or All Saints Day, as it is also known, which Pope Gregory III Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-83579978632552092062017-09-28T10:46:00.001-04:002017-09-28T10:46:45.543-04:00Good Hope
"May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loves us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope."
-2 Thessalonians 2:16
I have two cats buried in this little graveyard. My first one lived to be almost 20 years old. I hadn't realized it would be so hard to take her to the Vet the day I knew it was time for me to let her go. I planted the Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-28852988344633413432017-08-23T09:55:00.000-04:002017-08-23T09:55:48.181-04:00A Cleared Conscience
"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long." -Psalm 32:3
Our 3-year-old granddaughter can be rather fearless at times. We have to insist on holding her hand while walking in the parking lot or along a brick wall. But there are times she acts afraid and becomes clingy. I know these fears are instilled in her by adults cautioning her about this or that Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-19016580832331670662017-07-07T11:46:00.001-04:002017-07-07T11:46:31.395-04:00Taking Responsibility
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." -Ephesians 2:10
"Candorville"
I am writing this today for myself. As soon as I read Candorville this morning I knew that if I didn't write about it I'd miss something important that I needed to see. Interestingly, it goes along with something I read in a book last Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-80975340025256030102017-06-15T09:55:00.000-04:002017-06-15T09:55:44.252-04:00Bond of Peace
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." -Ephesians 4:3
What ARE we waiting for? These words by Paul are to fellow Christians. He has just written in his letter to the Ephesians, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love," then encourages us to be at peace with one another. I am seeing in today's Christians a Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-62144101140005660892017-05-25T11:15:00.001-04:002017-05-25T11:15:19.004-04:00Humility and Grace
"......Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" -1 Peter 5:5
I wrote today's Another Perfect Day 365 post about Humility and Grace. As I was finishing it I looked out the window by my desk and saw the raindrops clinging to the Penstemon on the deck. These flowers spread like crazy so I often dig them Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-39867449550392624272017-04-17T12:14:00.001-04:002017-04-17T12:14:02.031-04:00The Lesson of the Raccoon
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid." -John 14:27
In February I featured my Secret Garden in a post entitled "Make Me a Sanctuary." In seems this raccoon felt my Secret Garden was his sanctuary because he took up abode there all day yesterday. I discovered him when I was Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-69029401234087220672017-03-24T09:21:00.000-04:002017-03-24T09:21:26.735-04:00Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
"Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always." - Psalm 105:4
When we were in Merida, Mexico last year we saw reminders of Jesus Christ wherever we went. Even restaurants displayed the crucifix. In this morning's Our Daily Bread Amy Peterson writes, "We can tend to talk to [God] without really 'looking' at Him. We pray, but we remain caught up in our own questions and Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-57221515577108020322017-02-22T12:07:00.001-05:002017-02-22T12:07:41.275-05:00Make Me a Sanctuary
"You are my hiding place; you will preserve me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." -Psalm 32:7
I love making little hiding places on our property. I call this one my Secret Garden. It is tucked in behind a lattice fence on one side and bushes on the other. At the entrance I planted boxwoods and put an arbor at the entrance. The brick pathway forms a cross. A Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-36083357051401862612017-01-01T19:04:00.001-05:002017-01-01T19:42:19.602-05:00Thanks-Living
"I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us."
--Isaiah 63:7
When I read the scripture in Isaiah I realized my sour mood from yesterday is only hanging around because I have the tendency to project the way I feel at the moment into the future and then believe something has to change before I can feel Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-88655214911140322982016-12-25T11:49:00.002-05:002016-12-26T09:35:52.462-05:00God Himself
♪Wexford Carol♪
"The true light, which enlightens everyone,
was coming into the world."
-- John 1:9
I recently found this poem in the daily devotional, Streams in the Desert, edited by Mrs. Cowman. . . .
My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God;
'Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His
'At any cost, dear Lord, by any road!'
I Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-91632954851190607932016-11-08T12:56:00.000-05:002016-11-08T12:56:56.257-05:00True Happiness
🎶River Flows In You🎶
"Joy is the happiness that doesn't depend on what happens."
--Br. David Steindl-Rast
The Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. is just a few weeks away. Families and friends travel from near and far to gather around the Thanksgiving table to show their gratitude for everything and everyone they have in their life.
I wish, however, that we had a holiday that Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-10352504419334711722016-10-15T14:22:00.001-04:002016-10-15T14:22:21.582-04:00Grace
"It is not the experience that is still hurting us, but the stories that we continue to tell ourselves about the experience....It is so good and wise to...extract the helpful wisdom from them...the useful lessons and then let the rest go." --Melody Ross
When I play hide and seek with my granddaughter she covers her eyes and counts ....1..2..3..5..6..7...8...9 (she always skips 4) as Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-10165140762361912222016-09-29T13:59:00.000-04:002016-09-29T13:59:03.995-04:00See God in All Things
I recently came across this poem by A. E. Finn. . . .
“Give me a new idea,” I said,
While musing on a sleepless bed;
“A new idea that’ll bring to earth
A balm for souls of priceless worth;
That’ll give men tho’ts of things above,
And teach them how to serve and love,
That’ll banish every selfish thought,
And rid men of the sins they’ve fought.
The new thot came, just how, Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-81613533349338520272016-08-08T10:42:00.001-04:002016-08-08T10:42:45.788-04:00Holy Spirit Filled
"The greatest question that can be asked of the "twice born" ones is, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" This was the password into the early Church." --L. B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert
Acts 19:1, 2 tells us: While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the HolyCathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-35069133356349699862016-07-29T15:07:00.000-04:002016-07-29T15:07:38.676-04:00Faith, Hope and Love
I wanted to write about hope, but found I'd already written a post called Hope. Then I thought I could entitle it Hope and Faith, but found I'd already written about Hope and Faith, too. Then I thought about the framed print on my nightstand. . . .
A member of our extended family is facing a health challenge that the doctors hold no hope of cure for. But I do. I know that with God Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-14459151964084166002016-06-29T08:03:00.000-04:002016-06-29T08:05:09.606-04:00Consciousness
In the 1970s there was a movement termed New Age in which consciousness was a key word. To be "conscious" is to be "aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake" according to the dictionary.
Awaking to a new day
I was a Christian and even though not part of Christian community at that time, I was aware of the disdain that church goers had for the movement because the terminology Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-10667617805559419352016-05-01T17:21:00.000-04:002016-05-01T17:21:05.731-04:00Wireless vs. Tethered
"True liberty means we are free to love God and to walk in the way He has prepared for us, trusting His love to take care of our need."
I wrote the above on my computer in 2003 in my daily devotional "Freedom in Christ." It expresses in another way what Warren Wiersbe has said, "Our greatest bondage is to have our own way; our greatest freedom is to let God have His way." At the time I Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-33731488890663082102016-04-24T14:44:00.000-04:002016-07-14T05:34:34.631-04:00Lay Your Burden Down
The Lord made it clear to me this morning that even though I say I trust Him, I continue to carry my own burdens. How do I do this? I worry and fret, get down in the dumps.....in general, lose my peace. So He gave me the image of two baskets. . . .
As you see, my basket has a handle on it--all the better for me to carry it around! He wants me to write each of my burdens on a slip of paperCathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-32065463585129290312016-03-17T21:31:00.000-04:002016-03-17T21:31:04.338-04:00Doing Things for Others
Do you do things for others for their sake?
If so, you need to stop it right now.
Ultimately it will come back to bite you because whether you realize it or not you're actually doing it for yourself. Whenever we do something for other people with expectations for some kind of return we will usually be disappointed. They may not be grateful enough or they may not think that what we did Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-16361284379214784702016-02-16T16:15:00.000-05:002016-02-16T16:15:48.272-05:00Starting Over
Have you ever needed to start over? Leave something you've been doing in order to do something better. . . .
This has been on my mind because I'm learning to draw and have had to start over after spending all day drawing and painting a picture, only to discover it was all wrong--the colors, the proportion--something wasn't right. I found myself resisting starting over so much so that I Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-27428481642507791482016-01-29T13:24:00.000-05:002016-01-29T13:24:14.681-05:00Trying to Love
"They should not try to love that person (who is difficult to love), but try to become the kind of person who would love them." --Dallas Willard
Sunrise over Europe
Mr. Willard goes on to say, "Love is not a faucet to be turned on or off at will. God himself doesn't just love me or you, He is love." If God is in me and I in Him, then I am love also. And if I am love then I will love Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-68444613083969223832015-12-29T10:47:00.000-05:002015-12-29T10:47:07.422-05:00I Stand at the Door
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
- Revelations 3:20
I remember this picture from when I was a little girl. I opened the door to Jesus' knock when I was just eight years old. The day I was baptized we went next door for lunch with our neighbors. I was helping dry the dishes Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1934448543623880095.post-88190899764465664282015-11-15T10:06:00.002-05:002015-11-15T10:08:04.570-05:00Love Begets Love
“God loves what in us is not yet.
What has still to come to birth.
What we love in a person is what already is:
virtue, beauty, courage, and hence our love is self-interested and fragile.
God, loving what is not yet and putting faith in us, continually begets us since love is what begets. By giving us confidence, God helps us to be born, since love is what helps us emerge from our Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0